Fan Fiction |
by YukLing
"Mr. Lam, there's a Mr. Ng here to see you."
"Let him in." Ray replied. He quickly picked up the piece of papers in front of him and gave the contract another quick scan.
"Hey! How's it going?? It's so hard to catch up with you now days." Ron asked.
"Been busy working on a new contract with this company in Japan. Have a seat, Ron. I need for you to look over this contract and see if there are any legal details I should be concerned. I'll have Suzanne make a copy of this and send it to your office later today."
When Ray didn't hear Ron replied, he looked up to find Ron looking at him with a questioning stare.
"What?" Ray asked.
"Nothing. Never mind." Ron stated. "OK, I'll take a look at it later."
"What??! Don't give me that look then say -- Never mind." Ray raised his voice.
"Geesh, Ray. What's wrong with you? From the talks of everyone around your office lately, it seems they are all afraid to enter your room nowdays, even sweet Shirley. This is not the cool-suave Ray I know before I left for Paris."
Ray knew his temper has not been good lately, which was why he had stayed away from most people -- even his best friend Ron. Why he has been in such a foul mood, even Ray himself couldn't explain himself.
"Sorry, I've just been stressed over this contract lately." Ray apologized.
"I'm meeting with Myolie for lunch later, are you sure you can't take a lunch break and come along with us?" Ron asked.
"No, I still have tons of paper work to do. Tell Myolie I said HI."
"Sure. Well, don't work so hard. Remember your motto -- All work and no play makes Ray a dull boy'". Ron said jokingly before walking out of the room.
After the door was closed, Ray took of his eyeglasses and rubbed his aching nose bridge. Maybe Ron was right, maybe he had been working too hard. It seemed like he has been enjoying less of his social life more work nowadays. He decided he'd take a quick break and join Ron and Myolie for lunch. Ray picked up his office phone and dialed Ron's number.
"Hey, I've changed my mind. I'll join you guys for lunch today. Yeah I'll meet you on ground floor. See yah later."
After hanging up the phone, Ray took a look at the clock on his desk and saw that it was 11:55AM already, which meant that Jessica would be having her usual meeting with Qian soon. Their meetings were always at noon on every Tuesday. It wasn't as if Ray was trying to avoid Qian, he just thought the less they meet each other the better -- which was why whenever he knew Qian would be at the office, he'd never be there.
Like his usual routine, instead of taking the elevator -- Ray took the stairs instead. It was the surest way they'd never run into each other.
----
Qian looked up hopelessly at the flight of stairs above her. Hopefully, taking the stairs would be better for her. Just a minute ago when Qian was in the elevator she almost vomited due to the motion of the elevator going up. So she had to quickly get out of the elevator and took the stairs instead. However, after just one flight of stairs, Qian was already regretting her decision. The nauseated and dizzy feeling she was experiencing seemed to worsen and did not go away. Qian stopped halfway and sat on the middle of the stairway. Qian could feel her heart beating rapidly then suddenly she felt another urge to vomit again. Qian stood up and ran to the nearest trashcan and threw up.
Ray heard a loud vomit sound and ran quickly down a couple steps.
"Are you alright, Miss?" Ray asked as he lends her a helping hand.
Qian wiped her mouth, and shook her head as she turned around.
As soon as they both saw each other's eyes, Ray released his hands and Qian stepped away from him.
Qian was too tired and weak to say anything to Ray, she just knew she needed to sit down and rest. Still holding onto her stomach, Qian walked away from Ray slowly and rested on the steps again. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally. God, why did she have to see him at this time, she thought. She wished he would just leave her alone and go away.
Ray didn't dare to say anything and only let Qian remained rested on the steps. He didn't want to ask her the question that was on his mind when he first saw her throwing up. He was afraid to know her answer.
Finally, after a couple minutes of silence, Qian finally opened her eyes again and saw that Ray was still standing there.
"What are you still doing here?" Qian asked weakly.
"I couldn't just leave you in this condition...Here, let me help you." Ray replied.
"I'm fine. I just got tired from the stairs." Qian lied as she attempted to stand up and walk again. She couldn't let Ray see her like this, not in this condition. .
Seeing that Qian was struggling hard to hold onto the railing, Ray stepped up and helped her.
"I said...I'm FINE! Leave me alone!" Qian yelled and pushed his hands away.
The sudden movement must have been much more than Qian could handle, and before she knew it -- she started to collapse. Luckily, Ray was still standing nearby and caught her in time.
Ray leaped down the last flight of stairs as fast as he could while carrying Qian with both his arms. As soon as he reached the ground floor, he hollered to Ron and Myolie.
"Oh my gosh, what happened to Qian??" Ron asked with horror and shock to his face.
Myolie gave a frightening yell when she saw trickle of blood running down Qian's leg which drew everyone's attention.
"Ron, bring your car around the corner, we must take her to the emergency room quick!" Ray anxiously demanded.
Myolie was too much in a nervous wreck as she too herself was unable to control her breathing.
"Myolie sit down. Calm down would you?" Ray tried to comfort her.
Ron arrived in front of the building immediately and all three of them drove Qian to the emergency room. Myolie had never seen Ron drove so recklessly before. Ron, who had always been the one to obey traffic signs and laws, ran every single red light there was. They were only about 1/2 a mile from reaching the hospital when Ron got pulled over by the police car. Ray, not waiting for the policeman to walk up to their car, quickly opened the door and carried Qian running down the sidewalk leaving Ron and Myolie behind to do the explanation.
Even though Ray was in great physical shape because he always ran 2 miles every morning, he was almost out of breath by the time he arrived at the emergency room and handed Qian over to the doctors and nurses' care.
-----------------
After 30 minutes of waiting, Ray finally saw a doctor approaching him.
"Is she alright?" Ray asked with concern in his voice.
At this moment, Ron and Myolie also ran through the double doors and came just in time.
"Is she alright" Ron also asked.
"Which one of you is the baby's father?" The doctor asked looking from Ron to Ray.
Myolie's eyes were wide opened with fear as she looked at Ron and called his name. But Ron did not hear Myolie because he was too busy looking at Ray with infuriated eyes.
Out of the three of them, Ray remained the most calm and undisturbed. He had guessed right -- Qian was pregnant. And so, the question that Ray had feared was finally answered.
"I'm the father." Ray finally replied.
"Did you know your wife was 2 months pregnant? Why did you let her have so much stress and not enough rest? She's in critical condition."
"What do you mean? Is she and the baby going to be alright?" Ray asked.
"The fetus seemed to have shifted and started to slip away from her womb. Which was why she was bleeding internally. She was conscience for several minutes back there when I told her this news and she said she wanted to keep the baby. I just want to get the father's permission as well before we operate on them."
"I'll follow you to do the paper work, Doctor."
Ray could see Ron's detesting gaze as he walked passed him and Myolie. He knew that Ron was probably very angry with him, but he'd have to deal with Ron afterwards because the only thing on his mind right now was Qian and the baby's safety.
------
After two long hours of waiting in silence between the two friends, the doctor finally came out of the operation room.
"Will they be alright?" Both Ron and Ray asked at once.
"She's slowly recovering now and we have successfully tucked the fetus back into her womb. She needs a lot of rest now and probably won’t be awake anytime soon. I suggest you all go home and get some rest. You can come back tomorrow."
"Thank You, Doctor." Ron and Ray both said.
As soon as the doctor left, Ron yanked onto Ray's arm and pulled him out the stairways.
"Ron! What are you doing?" Myolie asked as she tried to keep up the pace of both men.
"Stay here, Myolie!" Ron ordered in a loud tone. Myolie had never heard Ron spoke so loudly or ordered her before.
-----
Ron pushed Ray against the hard concrete wall and yelled, "What the hell did you do to Qian??!!! Answer me!"
"What goes on between me and Qian is none of your business! Stay out of it, Ron!" Ray angrily replied and removed Ron's gripping hands on his collar.
"The hell am not! Of all the girls out there for you to screw, you had to mess with her too. Didn't yah?"
"Look, it was an accident, OK?? It's not like I meant to sleep with her if she didn't want it too. And for your information, it happened on your wedding day! I think you of all people would know the reason why she was got so wasted that night!"
Ron took a step back and looked at Ray. He understood exactly what Ray was saying.
Both men stood in silence again. Each unsure of the future ahead them.
For Ron, life was full of ironies. Just when he thought he was truly happy, life offered him another kind of happiness. But he had already made the choice, and now there was no way of turning back, especially now that Qian was having Ray's baby.
For Ray, he never thought he'd be stuck in a situation like this. He had sworn he'd stay away from marriage and family -- away from commitment and being tied-down, but it seemed that it was not for him to decide anymore. He knew he had to do the right thing.
Ray finally broke the silence, "Why don't you take Myolie home and get some rest. I think Myolie has been through enough stress and drama today."
Ron agreed and they both went back inside the hallway where Myolie had been sitting. Myolie quickly wiped the tears, attempting to hide the fact that she has been crying. But the redness in her eyes betrayed her for Ron had noticed too.
"Let's go home. We can visit Qian tomorrow." Ron said as he put his arms over Myolie's shoulders.